Programs

The Rexburg Animal Shelter

Animal control and the shelter are your resource; here you have people trained in handling animals and animal behaviors, people with the experience and references to help you and your animal with obedience training, to work past behavioral issues, or to help the neighbor quiet their noisy dog.

D.A.R.E.

The Rexburg Police Department currently has seven certified D.A.R.E. officers. These officers are involved in teaching the D.A.R.E. curriculum in the Madison School District.

D.A.R.E. is a program where officers teach a curriculum consisting of 10 lessons that are 45 minutes long, at the fifth grade level. These lessons provide information about confidence, bullying, decision-making, peer pressure, stress, communication and refusal skills. Kids learn and practice these skills through role playing and other techniques. This proactive policing seeks to stop involvement in underage drinking and smoking before it starts.

Police Officers in the classroom will bring the experience from the street to the student. The officers have seen the harm caused by drugs and illegal consumption of tobacco and alcohol. They have witnessed the harm to the persons who use drugs and the harm that occurs to their family and friends who care about them. This experience is valuable to the students and to their teachers.

Research

Evaluations have shown significant differences between students receiving D.A.R.E. and those who have not, in terms of their drug use and gang involvement. The D.A.R.E. curriculum consistently has been shown to improve skills that help students resist risk-taking behaviors and peer influences that might lead to addictive or dangerous activities.

National research shows that the most effective programs for young children encompass 10 lessons of 45 minutes each in order to reach the widest audience. A wealth of research data substantiates the two most common and dangerous drugs with which elementary aged students have knowledge or familiarity with alcohol and tobacco. These are the substances, across all segments of the population, with the highest use levels at this age group. The experience or knowledge of alcohol and tobacco creates an environment in which it is appropriate to talk with young students about these drugs.

Classroom

The D.A.R.E. elementary curriculum provides information about drugs, focusing on alcohol and tobacco. Students learn to apply the information, within the constructs of a decision-making model, and to employ resistance skills in making safe and responsible decisions about drugs. While we do not focus individually on all possible drugs which can be abused, we believe the students can apply the learned decision-making model and developed resistance skills to other substances such as methamphetamine, prescriptions drugs, cocaine/crack, heroine, etc.

The D.A.R.E. lessons are very interactive. The D.A.R.E. instructor functions as a facilitator guiding the student’s discussions. The lessons are structured in a way to allow children the opportunity to ask about other substances or dangerous behaviors if they so choose.

Funding

All programs have costs associated with them and the D.A.R.E. program is very inexpensive. The Rexburg Police Department spends approximately $29.00 per child in classroom supplies each year. We are grateful for the public support of the D.A.R.E. program and because of the generosity of individuals and local businesses we are able to continue to fund the D.A.R.E. program. We are especially thankful in a time where many schools are losing funding and cutting these types of preventative education. If you or your business would like to support our D.A.R.E. program, click on these links for fundraising or donations.

If you would like a D.A.R.E. Officer present at a class, block party, meeting or event please contact Officer Shawn Scott at 208-201-7352 or click here to fill out a request form.